Happy You, Happy Life!Chikamu

DAY #3

HAPPY THOUGHTS

Do you feel like you spend a lot of time dwelling on the negatives? Oftentimes, we let our circumstances overwhelm us. We focus on the moment and forget that there is something bigger and better ahead of us. 

My husband, Gary, and I spent the early years of our marriage in an old farmhouse. There was a season that I got stuck thinking about the negative things: the ancient appliances; the wild plants pushing their way through the windows; the testy, turn-of-the-century toilet—the only one in the whole house! While living in that small farmhouse, we went through difficult times. We didn’t have any money or even the hope of having any money. Believe me, I reached for anger, and when that didn’t work, I reached for self-pity—but I realized that dwelling on negative thoughts was robbing me of my joy. I knew I needed to break that cycle of defeat, so I put a sign in the bathroom that read: 

Make the Choice to Rejoice. 

You always have a choice: Focus on yesterday’s pain or today’s joy. God brought us out of that farmhouse, but the lessons I learned there, I still carry with me today. Life can be difficult. You can choose joy by seeking out God’s Word! God’s Word is an anchor for your soul. If you just open your ears to God’s voice, He will shatter those chains of negativity and speak His truth into your heart. 

God loves you; He has wonderful things in store for you! Repeat the words in Psalm 139: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” 

“I am bringing you out, and the pathway to that promotion is to bring you through … through situations you think are insurmountable, pressure you feel inadequate to navigate. I don’t bring the pressure; I bring you through the pressure. Your trust is being forged in the battle to make you an indestructible treasure of my own mastery. Don’t be discouraged, but rather, encouraged that you are being formed, and the outcome will be praiseworthy! When we are finished with this journey, you will resemble me more than ever, and that is what you have asked.”